Former Arsenal and Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny announced on August 27 that he was retiring from football at the age of 34.
In a lengthy message published on Instagram, the Polish stopper said of his career: ‘I didn’t just realise my dreams, I’ve arrived where my imagination wouldn’t even dare to take me. I played the game at the highest level with the best players in history without ever feeling inferior… But I also gave the game all I had.’
He added: ‘I gave the game 18 years of my life, everyday, without excuses. Today, although my body still feels ready for challenges, my heart is not there anymore. I feel that right now it is time to give all of my attention to my family.’
However, Szczesny’s retirement lasted just one month before Barcelona were able to convince him to have a change of heart. Barca needed to sign a new keeper after Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a knee injury.
Although Szczesny’s U-turn was remarkably quick, he is not the first footballer to announce his retirement and then reverse that decision.
Wojciech Szczesny, pictured playing for Poland at Euro 2024, did not stay retired for very long
The former Juventus and Arsenal shot-stopper has returned to the game to play for Barcelona
Paul Scholes
Legendary Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes retired from playing at the end of the 2010-11 season.
Aged 36, he had just won his 10th Premier League title with United.
Scholes immediately joined United’s coaching staff after hanging up his boots, but it wouldn’t last long.
Within less than a year, he was back on the pitch by January 2012 after manager Sir Alex Ferguson had a midfield injury crisis.
Scholes went on to make another 42 United appearances after his return – taking his overall tally to 718 – before retiring again for good in May 2013 after winning his 11th league title.
Paul Scholes won the Premier League title in 2013 after coming out of retirement in 2012
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Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben initially retired from football in July 2019 following his departure from Bayern Munich.
The Dutch winger had spent a decade at Bayern, winning eight Bundesliga titles, as well as the Champions League in 2013.
Robben – who also won league titles with PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea and Real Madrid – was 35 when he retired.
He was 36 when he ended his retirement in June 2020 to return to boyhood club Groningen, where he had started his career.
Unfortunately, injury issues restricted captain Robben to just seven appearances during Groningen’s 2020-21 campaign and he retired for good in July 2021.
Dutch winger Arjen Robben played seven matches for Groningen after his retirement U-turn
Johan Cruyff
One of the greatest players of all time retired in 1978 when he was just 31.
Johan Cruyff had won 17 trophies with Ajax and Barcelona, including seven league titles and three consecutive European Cups.
He would go on to win another five trophies after coming out of retirement in 1979, initially with the Los Angeles Aztecs in the USA.
Cruyff – who also played for Levante, Washington Diplomats, Ajax again and Feyenoord after returning to football – came out of retirement after making some bad investments and falling victim to a scam.
He once recalled: ‘I had lost millions in pig-farming and that was the reason I decided to become a footballer again.’
Johan Cruyff pictured playing for Los Angeles Aztecs in 1979 after coming out of retirement
Jens Lehmann
Jens Lehmann retired at the end of the 2009-10 season after making 786 senior club appearances for Schalke, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Stuttgart.
But the goalkeeper – who also played 61 games for Germany – was re-signed by Arsenal in March 2011 following an injury crisis at his former club.
Arsenal had been left with Manuel Almunia as their only fit goalkeeper after Lukasz Fabianski, Vito Mannone and a certain Wojciech Szczesny were all injured.
Almunia then picked up a knock, paving the way for Lehmann to make his comeback in April 2011 in a 3-1 win at Blackpool.
That proved to be the final appearance of Lehmann’s career. It was his 200th game for Arsenal and it saw him become the club’s oldest ever Premier League player at 41.
German keeper Jens Lehmann became Arsenal’s oldest Premier League player in April 2011
Petr Cech
Petr Cech holds the Premier League clean sheets record after keeping 202 shutouts for Chelsea and Arsenal between 2004 and 2018.
He called time on his playing career at the end of the 2018-19 season.
His last game came for Arsenal in a 4-1 defeat by former club Chelsea in the final of the Europa League. A month after that game, Cech returned to Chelsea as a technical and performance advisor.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech pictured in December 2020 playing for Chelsea U23s as an overage player when he was 38, after coming out of retirement
Despite being retired from playing, Cech was later registered as an emergency goalkeeper in Chelsea’s 25-man Premier League squad for the 2020–21 season.
In the end, Cech was not needed by the first team but he did feature for Chelsea’s U23 side as an overage player.
